Written Answers Thursday 8 September 2005

Scottish Executive

Education

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount of capital investment not funded from revenue was in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools in each year since 1975.

Peter Peacock: The table gives details of local authority gross capital expenditure on schools, excluding expenditure funded from revenue, for the financial years 1975-76 to 2004-05. Prior to 1990-2001, the information collected was not broken down into different school categories. From 1990-91, the collection has been in the categories shown in the table with no separate identification of expenditure on primary schools as against secondary schools. The figures do not include Public Private Partnership projects, where the capital expenditure is incurred by the private sector partner, not the local authority.

  Schools – Total Gross Capital Expenditure not Funded from Revenue

  

 
Pre-Primary
Primary and Secondary
Special
Total Schools
(£ Million)


1975-76
 
 
 
61.0


1976-77
 
 
 
79.3


1977-78
 
 
 
68.9


1978-79
 
 
 
51.8


1979-80
 
 
 
48.5


1980-81
 
 
 
52.2


1981-82
 
 
 
60.4


1982-83
 
 
 
52.3


1983-84
 
 
 
44.6


1984-85
 
 
 
44.6


1985-86
 
 
 
51.4


1986-87
 
 
 
45.3


1987-88
 
 
 
47.6


1988-89
 
 
 
59.2


1989-90
 
 
 
66.9


1990-91
0.3
62.7
1.6
64.5


1991-92
0.7
69.0
2.0
71.7


1992-93
1.0
79.0
2.3
82.2


1993-94
0.6
81.1
1.5
83.2


1994-95
1.1
106.0
2.2
109.3


1995-96
1.0
105.5
3.2
109.6


1996-97
2.6
95.2
2.0
99.7


1997-98
2.2
104.6
3.3
110.2


1998-99
3.9
110.8
4.9
119.6


1999-2000
3.9
123.1
4.2
131.3


2000-01
3.5
119.3
2.0
124.8


2001-02
4.5
132.9
2.3
139.7


2002-03
5.8
143.6
3.9
153.2


2003-04
5.6
154.0
3.1
162.8


2004-051
4.7
192.2
3.2
200.0



  Source: As reported by local authorities on Capital Payment Returns (CPR FIN 5 1975-76 to 2003-04. CPR Q4 2004-05).

  Notes:

  1. 2004-05 figures are provisional.

  2. Denotes not available.

  3. Figures do not include expenditure on Public Private Partnership (PPP) schemes, where the capital expenditure is incurred by the private sector partner, not the local authority. Authorities make annual payments to their PPP partners over the contract period in respect of capital works, services and on-going maintenance.

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many school leavers in all Glasgow parliamentary constituency areas have left school with no (a) standard and (b) higher grade qualifications in each of the last five years and how this compares with the national average.

Peter Peacock: The tables provided show the percentage of school leavers in all Glasgow parliamentary constituency areas who have left school with no (a) standard grade and (b) higher grade qualifications for each of the last five years and the national average. It should be noted in relation to table (a) that some school leavers may achieve individual unit awards in national qualifications courses. However, unit awards have not been included in the table unless they form part of a full course award. The information is post-appeal. Post-appeal figures for 2004-05 are not yet available.

  (a) Percentage of school leavers in Glasgow Parliamentary Constituency Areas with no standard grade or equivalent qualifications*:

  

Constituency
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Glasgow Anniesland
12
13
13
15
11


Glasgow Baillieston
8
11
8
12
10


Glasgow Cathcart
8
9
11
6
7


Glasgow Govan
11
15
13
13
10


Glasgow Kelvin
13
9
8
10
8


Glasgow Maryhill
13
10
10
20
10


Glasgow Pollock
11
9
8
8
8


Glasgow Rutherglen
6
7
7
7
8


Glasgow Shettleston
7
7
11
12
8


Glasgow Springburn
17
18
19
18
13


National Average
5
5
5
5
4



  Note: *Equivalent qualifications include Access 3, Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2.

  (b) Percentage of school leavers in Glasgow Parliamentary Constituency Areas with no higher grade qualifications:

  

Constituency
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Glasgow Anniesland
69
72
67
66
69


Glasgow Baillieston
64
68
69
74
70


Glasgow Cathcart
75
75
74
66
73


Glasgow Govan
73
68
71
71
66


Glasgow Kelvin
61
60
56
64
53


Glasgow Maryhill
74
72
75
95
78


Glasgow Pollock
73
73
71
71
70


Glasgow Rutherglen
61
63
62
59
63


Glasgow Shettleston
64
65
69
65
65


Glasgow Springburn
82
82
83
85
83


National Average
55
57
56
56
54

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it means by its plans to promote citizenship education in schools across Scotland.

Robert Brown: A Curriculum for Excellence establishes that the purposes for education are to enable all young people to become responsible citizens, effective contributors, confident individuals and successful learners. Citizenship education is accordingly a central aim of the Scottish Executive. However, Education for Citizenship is not a specific subject but cuts across various areas of the curriculum.

  Currently the National Guidelines 5 – 14 offer a number of opportunities for pupils to learn about citizenship education under personal and social development, religious and moral education and, in particular, under social subjects within environmental studies.

  In addition, Learning And Teaching Scotland promotes citizenship education through its "Education for Citizenship" website. The website includes examples of cross-curricular approaches to citizenship and features items such as the J8 and G8 summits, the youth parliament and mock elections.

  Many schools run mock elections, often in association with the Hansard Society, and engage with MSP’s and other elected representatives.

  Work on the implementation of A Curriculum for Excellence is moving ahead and will ensure that cross-curricular issues such as citizenship education are reflected fully in new guidance on all curricular areas. There will be ample opportunity for wide debate, testing, refinement and consideration of any proposals which emerge.

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many physical education teachers have been employed in schools in each of the last three years.

Peter Peacock: Table 3.9 of the Statistical Bulletin Teachers in Scotland, 2004 contains information on the number of teachers by main subject taught for 2003 and 2004. The table can be accessed by the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/25165316/53393 .

  Information for 2002 is not available.

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional places for physical education teachers have been secured with teacher training institutions to implement the recommendations in Report of the Review Group on Physical Education .

Peter Peacock: The University of Strathclyde has increased the target intake for the postgraduate diploma in education in physical education from 15 in 2003 to 35 for session 2005-06. In addition, both Paisley and Edinburgh universities will offer a postgraduate teacher training course in physical education from 2005 with 12 and 20 places respectively.

  In order to produce the 400 additional PE teachers required by the 2008-09 academic session we also intend to open discussion with providers of initial teacher education and continuing professional development to provide additional opportunities for existing teachers to develop PE specialisms.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned an independent legal opinion on the potential impact of the European Commission’s Decision of 15 July 2005 on the application of Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty on State aid in the form of public service compensation granted to "undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest" on the need to tender Clyde and Hebrides ferry services and, if not, what plans it has to commission an independent legal opinion.

Tavish Scott: The Executive has not commissioned independent legal advice on the effect of the European Commission’s Decision on Services of General Economic Interest in relation to the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services and has no plans to do so.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal advice it has taken on the potential impact of the European Commission’s Decision of 15 July 2005 on the application of Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty on State aid in the form of public service compensation granted to "undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest" and its relationship to the European Court of Justice Altmark ruling and the need to tender Clyde and Hebrides ferry services, and whether it will publish (a) such advice or (b) a summary of the advice.

Tavish Scott: The Executive has significant legal advice at its disposal. The Executive does not normally disclose legal advice which it receives.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the European Commission’s Decision of 15 July 2005 on the application of Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty on State aid in the form of public service compensation granted to "undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest", whether it has reconsidered the application of the European Court of Justice Altmark ruling to Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it now accepts, in light of the European Commission’s Decision of 15 July 2005 on the application of Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty on State aid in the form of public service compensation granted to "undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest", that a case could be made that the European Court of Justice Altmark ruling applies to areas covered by the maritime cabotage regulations.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the European Commission’s Decision of 15 July 2005 on the application of Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty on State aid in the form of public service compensation granted to "undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest", whether it now considers that the European Commission and legal advice were erroneously dismissive of the relevance of the Altmark case to the Caledonian MacBrayne tendering issue and that the Executive should now be allowed more time by the European Commission to make a case for not tendering, based on the Altmark precedent.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the European Commission’s Decision of 15 July 2005 on the application of Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty on State aid in the form of public service compensation granted to "undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest", whether it considers that the European Commission and legal advice were not erroneously dismissive of the relevance of the Altmark case to the Caledonian MacBrayne tendering issue and, if so, whether it will state why it believes this to be the case.

Tavish Scott: The European Commission’s "Decision on the application of Article 86(2) of the Treaty on State aid in the form of public sector compensation granted to certain undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest" does not seek to provide guidance on the Altmark case nor the application of the Altmark decision. The Decision does refer to the Altmark case but only so as to make clear that the Decision relates only to public compensation which does not meet the Altmark criteria. This is because public compensation which does meet the Altmark criteria does not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 87 of the EC Treaty.

  The Decision provides an administrative framework which exempts certain State aids from notification to the European Commission. It does not, however, exempt public authorities from any other requirements in relation to state aids rules nor exempt them from the requirements of sectoral state aid rules. This means that, in relation to the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services, the Scottish Executive is still required to comply with the terms of the maritime state aid rules (the maritime cabotage regulation) and, in particular, the requirement to act in a non-discriminatory way.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what communication it has had with the European Commission regarding the application of Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty on State aid in the form of public service compensation prior to the publication of the Commission’s Decision of 15 July 2005, and whether any such communication referred to (a) the European Court of Justice ruling on Altmark, (b) Caledonian MacBrayne or (c) Clyde and Hebrides ferry services.

Tavish Scott: The European Commission first consulted member states in 2002 on proposals for the "Decision on the application of Article 86(2) of the Treaty on State aid in the form of public sector compensation granted to certain undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest". The Executive contributed to the UK position at that time and continued to do so as the proposals were developed and finalised.

  Communications between member states and the Commission are private and inform internal discussion and advice. Such communications are not normally made public and are exempt from disclosure under section 32(1)(a)(ii) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any complaints made to the European Commission by companies outside the United Kingdom or other European member states regarding the provision of ferry services in the Clyde and Hebrides areas and, if so, when the Executive was informed of these complaints.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive understands that complaints have been made to the European Commission but has not been informed of the content of those complaints or of the identify or nationality of the complainants.

Flooding

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the report of the public local inquiry into the Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme.

Rhona Brankin: The report of the public local inquiry has identified a number of shortcomings in the scheme and recommended modifications. As a result, ministers now propose modifications but will consider representations before making a final decision.

  As required by the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961, the Executive will be writing over the coming week to intimate the terms of the proposed modifications to all parties concerned who will have three months to comment.

  I share the public’s disappointment that the council’s scheme cannot be confirmed yet but it is important that we arrive at the right scheme to protect homes and businesses from flooding from the Water of Leith.

  I am placing copies of the report of the public local inquiry, the accompanying technical report and the terms of the proposed modifications in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 37378, 37379 & 37382) and also on the Scottish Executive website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Water/Flooding/16919/6936.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18177 by Mr Andy Kerr on 18 August 2005, which NHS boards have provided an osteoporosis service using the PHIS and SIGN 71 guidelines.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS-funded junior physiotherapist graduates there have been in each of the last six years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The number of physiotherapy graduates is shown in the following table.

  Graduates in Physiotherapy from Scottish Higher Education Institutions 1998-99 2003-04

  

 
Total
Postgraduate
First Degree
Other HE


1998-99
115
10
105
0


1999-2000
105
20
90
0


2000-01
90
10
75
0


2001-02
105
25
80
5


2002-03
210
60
150
0


2003-04
215
65
145
0



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency.

  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest five to protect confidentiality. Values may not sum to total due to rounding.

  These are not NHS-funded graduates. higher education institutions determine the number of places they provide on particular courses, such as physiotherapy, based on their funding allocations from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) and their perception of market demands.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS-funded junior physiotherapist posts have been created in the NHS in each of the last six years.

Mr Andy Kerr: There were 1,997.9 whole-time equivalent qualified physiotherapists working in NHS Scotland at September 2004. This represents a 40% growth in the number of whole-time equivalent physiotherapists in the years 1994-2004. It is not possible to specifically identify junior physiotherapist posts within this centrally collected data.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NHS boards in respect of junior physiotherapists’ workforce planning.

Mr Andy Kerr: Scottish Executive Health Department officials have discussed the issue of graduate physiotherapists seeking employment in NHS Scotland with regional workforce planning directors who then raise this with the NHS boards in their geographical areas.

  The National Workforce Planning Framework 2005 sets in place a robust bottom up approach to workforce planning driven by patient need and defined at local level by NHS boards. Board workforce plans will be published in April 2006 and will cover all staff groups and services, including physiotherapy.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the number of newly-qualified NHS-funded physiotherapists who are unable to find posts in the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: Scottish employment rates for physiotherapy graduates have traditionally been very good. One higher education institute’s statistics indicates that 91% of respondents graduating in 2003 commenced employment as a physiotherapist in the year after graduation and in 2004 86% of respondents commenced employment as a physiotherapist within a year of graduation.

  The Scottish Executive are aware that there is currently an issue in England with physiotherapist graduates finding it difficult to secure employment in the NHS and is gathering evidence about whether this may be a problem in Scotland.

  Information on physiotherapy vacancy rates is not specific to newly qualified physiotherapists and evidence is being sought through the regional workforce planning directors.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Chartered Society of Physiotherapists in respect of the number of newly-qualified NHS-funded physiotherapists who are unable to find posts.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive Health Department recently met with the Scottish Chartered Society of Physiotherapists where a number of issues relating to workforce planning for physiotherapists were discussed, including newly qualified physiotherapists unable to find posts. The Scottish Executive is currently gathering evidence through the regional workforce planning directors to determine whether this is a problem across Scotland.

NHS Staff

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS-funded junior physiotherapist places it plans to fund in each of the next three years.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is for NHS boards to plan at a local level the workforce that they require to deliver services to patients locally. This bottom up, evidence based approach ensures that patient need drives workforce planning. NHS boards have a statutory duty to ensure satisfactory workforce planning arrangements are in place and have already published baseline workforce reports. These are to be followed by NHS board workforce plans in April 2006.

Rail Network

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail line will be completed.

Tavish Scott: The programme for the completion of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail line is spring 2007.

Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the recent publication of the responses to the consultation on the draft Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill, what percentage of the consultation responses received were in favour of the retention of school boards, either as they are or with some amendment, improvement or adjustment to their current form and what percentage of responses received were totally in favour of their abolition.

Peter Peacock: A full analysis of the consultation responses received will be made available when the bill is introduced.

Sport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) sports halls, (b) grass football pitches, (c) artificial grass football pitches and (d) swimming pools there have been in (i) total and (ii) each local authority area in each year since 1994.

Patricia Ferguson: This information is not held centrally. I have, however, asked the Chair of  sportscotland to write to the member with the information that they have available.

Teachers

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers there have been in each of the last three years.

Peter Peacock: Information on the full-time equivalent number of teachers in the last three years in publicly funded schools can be found in Table 1.1 of Teachers in Scotland 2004 which can be accessed by the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/25165316/53185 .

  Information on the number of teachers in pre-school in 2003-04 and 2004-05 can be found in Table 1.22 of Pre-school and Childcare Statistics 2005 which can be accessed at the following link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/07/27131643/17020.

  Information on the number of teachers in pre-school in 2002-03 is not available.

Tourism

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18156 by Patricia Ferguson on 10 August 2005, which Level 3 spending category contains the funding allocated to EventScotland.

Patricia Ferguson: VisitScotland is the Level 3 spending category that contains the funding allocated to EventScotland. The resources available to EventScotland are specifically ring-fenced within the VisitScotland budget.